The Rich Young Ruler

The Rich Young Ruler

Mark 10:17-22

     There is an old saying that goes, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” And we know what that means, it means that no matter how close you are, it doesn’t count if you don’t succeed. The same thing is true of our relationship with God.

     One of the most terrifying passages of scripture in the bible is Matthew 7:22-23, Where Jesus says, “Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord,” did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you depart from me.” That tells me we can be that close to God and still miss the mark.

     I read a story about a 62 year old man named William Hyatt. He was found in the Mojave Desert with his face and his hands buried in the sand seeking water. His car had broken down, and he had walked 22 miles through the Desert until he died. He crawled on his hands and feet the last 2 miles and he died in the sand. Just over the hill a ½ mile was the Saratoga Spring that could have saved him. He was almost there and yet he missed it. What a tragic situation!

     That is the story of the rich young ruler. It is a story of a young man who comes to the right person. He asks the right question. He gets the right answer and then he makes the wrong decision. And I can’t help but think to myself there are many of us sitting here today who will inevitably do the same thing. And what we learn from this passage is; If we want to go to heaven Jesus must become the priority of our life.

  17      As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

  18      And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

  19      “You know the commandments, ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

  20      And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

  21      Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

  22      But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

     In our passage this morning we see a story of a young man who had everything in life but knew something was missing. It’s a story of a young man who was so close yet so far. He wanted to go to heaven, but he wasn’t willing to let go of the world. The one thing he needed was Jesus, and it was the one thing he didn’t have.

     This is a story of a one on one encounter with Christ that reveals how close someone can come to being saved and yet not be converted. This is a story of a young man who comes to the right person. He asks the right question. He gets the right answer. And then he makes the wrong decision.

     It is the story of a man who is interested in spiritual things but did not inherit them. He was the hottest evangelistic prospect in history, yet he was never saved. He walked right up the narrow road. Step with his feet right up to the narrow gate and then choose the Broad path that leads to destruction. He was unwilling to forsake it all to answer the call. He just simply wanted to add Jesus to everything else he owned. He wanted all of the benefits without any of the commitment and he left the same way he came, lost.

     What we learn from this passage is if we want to go to heaven Jesus must become the priority of our life. The first thing I want you to see in this passage is, The Request, Vs. 17. As this young man comes to Christ asking about eternal life. He is open and he is searching for spiritual things.

     Vs 17 says, “As He was setting out on a journey.” First, let me remind you of the context. Jesus has been in a house in Judea, where He was teaching the disciples about marriage and divorce. Then parents began bringing their children to Him hoping He would bless them. The disciples were rebuking the parents and Jesus rebuked the disciples and told us “The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

     That scene ends and now, and He sets out on “a journey.” But this is not just a journey, this is Jesus continuing His way to Jerusalem where He will die on a cross for the sin of the world. That is the context.

     Then we are told in Vs 17 “A man ran up to Him and knelt before Him.” We call this man the rich young ruler. However, Mark does not give us that much information about him. Accept in Vs 22 we are told he owned much property. So, he was rich in first century Israel. In Matthew’s version of the story 19:20, we are told he is a young man. And in Luke 18, we are told he is a certain ruler. So, when you condense these all together, we get the rich young ruler.

     We know he would have been a prominent man in the community. A ruler of the synagogue with an elite status and influence over the people. But we also see in his approach to Jesus, that he was a very moral, upright person who was very respectful. The fact that he runs up to Him tells us that he was sincere. He does not have to be dragged to Jesus. He comes to Him, and he kneels before Him out of respect and reverence. His approach is humble.

     But he also attempts to flatter Christ. He calls Him a “good teacher.” Which means he saw Him as a respected Rabbi. A teacher of divine truth and an authority of the Old Testament scriptures. That tells us he believed Jesus to be a person of Godly character. However, there is nothing to indicate to us that he believes in Jesus as the Son of God. Just that he sees Him as one of many respected teachers.

     And he comes to Jesus and asks Him this question, which is a fundamental question of life. The eternal destiny of each and everyone of us hinges on the answer to this question. Because there is coming a day when each and everyone of us will leave this world, and we need to know, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

     For anyone who has ever considered themselves an evangelist this is a dream come true. This is like sitting on a plane getting ready for takeoff, and a person coming in sitting down next to you and turning to you and saying, “how can I be saved?” This is like playing t-ball. Someone comes and puts the ball on a tea and all you have to do is hit it. I say again, this man came to the right place. He came with the right question. He got the right answer and then he made the wrong decision. And the same thing can happen in our life.

     The word “do” in his question is the fundamental problem. He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” That tells us he believed he was lacking something he had to do to go to heaven. There was some deed left undone for him to perform. He thinks he has the ability to work for eternal life and that is the problem.

     I have a confession to make, and it is going to shock you. I have been teaching you that we are not saved by works, but we are saved by grace alone. I lied. We are absolutely saved by works. But, it is not our works. It is the works of Jesus Christ. It is the perfect life He lived and the death that He died and His resurrection from the dead that saves us. It is our belief in His works and that He has imparted them to us that makes us righteous before God. So we are saved by works, it’s just not our works.

     The rich young ruler thought it was about him and what he had to do. What is interesting to me is that he thought he was lacking anything at all. Because by the standards of the world he had everything. He is young. He is healthy. He is rich. He has authority. Yet he realizes something is missing. There is a void in his life that cannot be filled by the things of the world, and he realizes it because he has no peace inside him about where he would spend eternity.

     What we learn from this passage is if we want to go to heaven Jesus must become the priority of our life. The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the response, Vs. 18-21